ISLAMABAD – The National Assembly has approved bills to increase the number of Supreme Court judges to 34 and to extend the service terms of the service chiefs by a majority vote.
After a delay of over two hours, the National Assembly session commenced under the chairmanship of Speaker Ayaz Sadiq. Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar presented a motion to suspend the question hour, which was approved.
The opposition strongly opposed this motion, chanting “no, no” in the assembly.
During the session, the Law Minister introduced the Practice and Procedure Amendment Ordinance and presented a bill to increase the number of judges in the Supreme Court, stating that the count is being raised to 34.
He mentioned that additional judges were needed for the constitutional court to reduce the backlog of pending cases.
Legislative proceedings began on the bill to increase the number of Supreme Court judges to 34, although the opposition continued to disrupt the assembly.
At this time, the National Assembly approved the bill to raise the number of Supreme Court judges to 34, meaning there will now be 33 judges in addition to the Chief Justice of Pakistan.
Azam Nazeer Tarar also presented the Islamabad High Court Act Amendment Bill 2024, stating that the aim of the bill is to increase the number of judges in the Islamabad High Court from 9 to 12, and the National Assembly passed the Islamabad High Court Act 2024.
The Law Minister presented the Practice and Procedure Amendment Ordinance and the Islamabad High Court Act 2024 Amendment Bill in the assembly.
Later, a bill to amend the Pakistan Army Act 1952 was introduced in the National Assembly for approval, along with bills to amend the Air Force Act and the Pakistan Navy Act.
All three bills were presented by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and were approved by a majority vote. Following the bills’ approval, the National Assembly session was adjourned until tomorrow.